


Ransom demand

by myotishia



Series: Psyonic [4]
Category: Torchwood
Genre: Gen, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-05
Updated: 2020-07-07
Packaged: 2021-03-05 00:53:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,143
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25095670
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/myotishia/pseuds/myotishia
Summary: When Melody and Toshiko disappear the team have a decision to make.
Relationships: Gwen Cooper/Rhys Williams, Jack Harkness/Ianto Jones, Owen Harper/Toshiko Sato
Series: Psyonic [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1766956
Comments: 8
Kudos: 33





	1. Vanished

Gwen held her phone between her shoulder and her ear as she pulled her coat on, listening to it try and connect. “Hi Tosh, bit of a issue with shopping. Rhys just fell off a ladder painting the ceiling and I think he might have broken his arm so I’m rushing him to the hospital. Sorry.”

“No, it’s fine. I hope he’s ok. Update me when you find out.”

“Will do.”

Tosh hung up and turned to Melody who was sat next to her on the bench. “Rhys fell off a ladder so Gwen can’t join us.”

“I hope it isn’t too bad.”

“She’s driving him to the hospital to find out. She’ll text me when she knows more. Looks like it’s just us for today then.” She smiled softly. 

“I’m glad you wanted to come with me at all. I am no good at buying clothes. I can never decide if something’ll look good.”

“I never get to go shopping with anyone. Owen just complains the whole time so I send him off to poke around gamestation.”

“Ahh yes, the boyfriend daycare.”

She chuckled. “So, where first?”

“Well, I need something for an … um… Date.”

“Date? I thought you’d sworn off dating.”

“I had.” She shrugged. “But I figure if I can find someone who’s asexual then me keeping my spinal issue a secret won’t be so bad. I can live without, you know, but I don’t think I can live alone forever.” 

“That’s understandable.”

“It's a new year so I might as well try and branch out a bit.” 

Rhys winced as the A&E doctor examined his arm. 

“Well, lucky for you nothing’s broken.” She began, turning her screen to show him the xray of his arm. “But there’s a very deep bruise, possibly down to the bone, so you’re going to be looking black and blue for a bit. The best you can do for now is to put some ice on it, take a couple of over the counter painkillers, I suggest ibuprofen, and rest it. If the swelling gets worse or you loose sensation in your fingers then come back, but for now try not to climb any more ladders.” 

He chuckled. “I think I’ll hire a decorator. Thanks.”

“Of course.”

He headed out to see Gwen in the waiting room. She stood and rushed over. 

“Just a bone bruise.” He said, feeling a little embarrassed about the whole thing.

“Oh thank goodness. You had me worried.”

“Sorry love. Looks like you can go shopping now though.”

“They’re probably done by now, but I’ll give Tosh a call to tell her you’re in one piece.” She took her phone from her bag as they walked back to the car. It rang and rang. No answer. Maybe Toshikos phone was in her bag and she couldn’t hear it. She called Melody, but got the same. That was very strange. Mel always had her phone with her. 

“Everything ok?” Asked Rhys, slipping into the passenger seat.

She frowned deeply. “They’re not answering. One sec.” She scrolled to Owens contact. 

“If this is about work tell Harkness he can sod off.” Owen answered, the sound of some kind of FPS being played in the background. 

“It’s not. Have you heard from Tosh or Mel? They’re not answering their phones.”

“Aren’t you with them?”

“No. We had a bit of an emergency so I couldn’t go.”

The game went quiet as he paused it so he could hold his phone. “I’ll give her a call and get back to you. She usually would have been back by now anyway.”

“Thanks.” She slumped into the drivers seat, her gut instinct telling her something was very wrong. 

Jack lounged on Iantos bed, one arm wrapped around his lovers shoulders, considering trying to get up for lunch. They didn’t often get the chance to spend time away from the hub so they were making the most of it. They’d been awake for some time but leaving the bed hadn’t been on the cards. A cool breeze made the curtains dance in the bright daylight. Ianto broke the comfortable silence, rolling to rest his head on Jacks chest, listening to his heart beat. 

“We should go out for dinner tonight.”

“That would mean getting dressed.”

“Only for a few hours.”

He chuckled warmly and ran his fingers through the back of Iantos hair. “I could be convinced, but that’s for later.” He grazed his hand across the mans back, noting that he was actually relaxed for once. That was rare in itself. Ianto closed his eyes, lost in the soft sound of Jacks breathing and the strong beat of his heart. It was a soothing sound and one of the few things that could send him into a deep sleep in only minutes. The sharp sound of his ringtone pulled him from his relaxed haze. 

“If I don’t answer it do you think they’ll go away?” He asked, his voice deep and smooth. 

Jack smiled. “I’ll still be here when you’ve answered it.”

“I should hope so.” He reached over to the bedside table and hit the answer button, setting it to loudspeaker. “Hello?”

Gwens worried voice rose from the device. “Sorry to bother you, but have you heard anything from Tosh or Mel in the last few hours?”

“No. Why?”

“I can’t get in touch with them.”

“Maybe they’re just not by their phones.”

“That’s what I thought for a bit but… I was worried so I went looking. Tosh’s car’s here still so I kept calling and… I just found both of their phones and bags thrown into a bush.”

Both men sat up, Jack picking up the phone. “Get any CCTV from the area and meet us at the hub.” 

Tosh awoke listening to the hum of an engine. She didn’t fully remember what had happened but she felt the strange woozy feeling that followed being drugged. Her wrists were bound together with what were most likely cable ties. As her eyes adjusted to the darkness she saw another figure curled up in the corner, their shoulders shaking slightly. 

“Melody?” She said, her throat dry. 

The figure lifted its head, tears glinting with the tiny amount of light leaking into the vehicle. “Yea… Are you ok?” She sniffed. 

“What happened? Did someone hurt you?”

“I woke up here too… I remember being grabbed from behind but then everything went dark… I think there’s another telepath around. They’re blocking me and I don’t know what they’d do if I fought back.” Her voice cracked.

Tosh uncomfortably sat up and moved to sit next to Mel. “We’re going to be ok. We just have to stay calm and try to work out what’s going on. If they were going to kill us they would have already done it so try not to panic, ok?”

“I’m sorry… I just keep thinking of being dragged off to that ship and…” She bit back her sobs, her knees tucked up to her chin, making herself as small as possible. 

“Mel… Melody, listen to me. You’re going to be ok. We both are. We’ll get through this.” 

“I’m scared.”

“Me too. But that’s never stopped us before. The others’ll realise we’re missing and find us.”

Jack glared at the screen as the CCTV played. Whatever had happened had been obstructed by a large van, he presumed it had been intentional. Tosh wasn’t the strongest combatant but she could handle herself against your every day mugger. Whoever had taken them didn’t want money, otherwise their bags wouldn’t have been left behind. Owen was scrolling through a second copy of the footage and Gwen was looking up the licence plates he gave her. 

“This one is owned by the same company as the van. I can’t find any other information about it though.” She said, frowning deeply. 

Owen nudged her out of the way and brought up a coding box she’d only seen Tosh use before. “Osiris corp… Never heard of them but let’s see if they go by any other names.” Lines of code scrolled up the screen as Toshikos search programme did its work. Ianto, who’d been making coffee, rushed over and hit the loudspeaker on the hubs phone line. 

A digitised voice spoke. “If you wish to see your employees alive you will comply with our demands. You have twelve hours to deliver the contents of your armoury to the address we have sent to your agents mobile devices. There will be no negotiation. If you do not comply within this time limit we will send you proof of how serious we are.” The call dropped and Gwen scrambled to grab Mels mobile phone as it was closest. 

The doors of the van were pulled open and Tosh winced at the bright light. Two figures holding guns stood either side, holding the doors. 

A woman, tall and serious looking, gestured to them. “You two, get out or you’ll be dragged out.”

“Just do as they say.” Tosh told Mel softly before scooting forwards and stepping out of the van. She was pushed to the side and patted down to make sure they hadn’t missed any concealed weapons. She was clean, obviously. Melody clambered out, her face still red and tearstained and she was next to be patted down. The woman in charge beconned the one who’d ordered them out over. She lifted the back of Melodys shirt. 

“The hell is this? What does it do?!” She barked, those holding the door turning and pointing their weapons. 

Melody gasped. “Nothing. It doesn’t do anything!”

“Aiden! Is she telling the truth?”

A man walked around from the passenger side of the van. “She is. She’s the telepath but by the feel of it she’s an amature. They’re not a threat.”

“Huh.” She smirked. “I knew these Torchwood weirdos were heartless but experimenting on their own people? Oh well. Take them both inside. They can stay upstairs until their boss decides if he’s going to do what he’s told.” 

The two agents were escorted into a small farmhouse and led upstairs. Aiden took a knife from his belt and freed their wrists before turning and closing a thick door at the top of the stairs behind him. The sound of a lock engaging announced that they’d be staying there for the foreseeable future. Tosh pulled Melody into a hug that she hadn’t been able to give before. It was usually Gwen or Jacks thing to hug but she could see her friend needed it. Mel hugged back, trying to calm her breathing. 

“Right now all we can do is try and stay calm. At least this isn’t the worst place to be held hostage in.” She said, glancing around the area. It looked like there was a small bathroom and a bedroom. Or what had been a bedroom when it contained a bed. The windows were barred and, by the looks of it, they were in the middle of nowhere so noone would hear them if they screamed, or got shot. 

“What do we do now?”

“Right now? We sit down and try and get our thoughts together.”


	2. Planning

Aiden rocked back on the old dining chair he was sitting in. His commander and a few of the guards were sitting around the table playing cards. He didn’t get to play because he always won. 

The commander, Vivian, threw her cards onto the table. “Who decided to hide out in the middle of nowhere?”

“That was Charlie. You can give him hell later.”

“Of course it was Charlie. That chucklefuck has no life. Did he give us enough information on who we’ve even got upstairs?”

“Toshiko Sato. Her UNIT profile says she’s some kind of genius. Torchwood has her working as a technician.”

“And the other one?”

“She’s new. There wasn’t much on her. Melody Archer, looks like she’s just an office worker.”

“And a telepath.”

Aiden shrugged. “She’s probably only just found out going on her age. From what I can tell she should barely be able to hear thoughts even if you’re screaming in your head. I’m only blocking her as a precaution.”

“Could she fake it?”

“At her age? No. You’d need years of experience and some serious power to do that. More than I’ve got and I’ve been doing this for a decade.”

“One less thing we have to deal with I suppose. Maybe you could convince her to switch sides. I mean she can’t be too happy working with them with whatever the hell’s going on with her back.”

“To the rest of the world psychics are just lab rats. I’ve got a metal plate in my head from what the CIA researcher fuckers did to me before I joined Osiris.” He glugged down the rest of his water and crushed the plastic bottle, throwing it into the bin in the corner. 

Vivian nodded and collected up the playing cards. “Let’s hope their boss pays up.”

“What’s the plan if he doesn’t?”

“We start sending him fingers and being as the tech is holding herself together and your office girl isn’t, then those fingers’ll be hers.”

“You’re a sick bitch.”

“That’s how I got to where I am now. Don’t go soft on me.” 

Jack rubbed his temples, leaning heavily on his desk. 

“Gotcha you arrogant arseholes!” Owen hissed. “Osiris are arms dealers and occasional mercenaries.” 

“That explains how organised they are and why they want our armoury. They’ll be heavily armed so we can’t just walk in and take them down.”

“So we give them what they want and get it back after Tosh and Mel are safe.”

Jack stood and made his way to look at Owens screen. “If they get hold of what we have here there will be no getting it back, and I doubt they’ll let us walk away from it.”

“We can’t just let them kill them!”

“Of course not!” Jack glared. “But we have to think about this. How long do we have left?”

Ianto glanced up from the tattered, leather bound, book he was searching through. “Nine hours and twenty three minutes. It’ll take us half an hour to get to the address we were given so it’s more like eight hours and fifty three minutes.” He turned the page, looking through the next set of listings. “We have a lot of none functional weaponry in the archives we could fill out boxes with.”

“It’s still alien technology. And they’re going to be expecting a lot more than we have even with all that.”

“Why?”

“When Torchwood one fell there was a huge cleanup operation and very few people to carry it out. Certain groups took advantage of it and raided the building for as much as they could. One of those groups were specifically looking for weaponry and cleared an entire warehouse full. We’ve recovered a lot of it over the years but we could never pin down the exact group. I remember the logo they had marked their crates with. It was a simplified outline of an Egyptian god. If these are the same people they’re going to be expecting the same amount and short of excavating the lower levels we have no chance of giving them that much.”

“So, we have no other option than somehow trying to rescue them before the time limit’s up.” Gwen stated. “Can’t we get the police or the army involved in this one? I mean they’re just weapons dealers, no alien activity involved. Just for numbers to keep them distracted while we get Tosh and Mel out of there.”

“That would be the usual plan but being as they managed to kidnap Melody they have to have a telepath of their own.”

“Why would a telepath want to join a group like that?”

“Sometimes they don’t have a choice. Other times it’s better than the situation they’re in.”

Owen stood. “If we’re going to rescue them then we shouldn’t just be sitting around talking!” 

“I know you want to go and save them but rushing will just get you all killed.”

“We don’t know if these bastards are keeping their word. What are you going to do if we get there and they’re already dead?! God knows what’s happening to them right now!” He snapped, not knowing what else to do. 

Jack barely flinched, not rising to it. “That would be counterproductive. For now they’re safe, but if we make the wrong move they won’t be.” He knew that the doctor was just scared and didn’t know what else to do. He had to stay calm and make sure Owen wouldn’t do something he’d regret. 

Tosh had gotten as comfortable as she could on the old wooden flooring after checking for weaknesses in the window bars. There weren't any. They had a better chance of digging through the wall than moving the metal bars. The whole second floor had been stripped of anything that could be used as a weapon and had practically been made air tight. There was no way out. If it was any smaller then she might have been in a similar state to Melody. The blond woman was nervously pacing back and forth, one hand clamped around the pendant hanging from her neck and the other clutching the front of her own shirt. 

“Melody?” 

She looked up, as if pulled from a thought. “Hmm?”

“Come and sit down.” Tosh patted the space next to her. “Please?”

Mel walked over and slid down the wall, hugging her knees as she landed.

“Did Ianto ever tell you about what happened in the beacons?”

She shook her head.

“People were going missing so we went to see if the rift had spread. It wasn’t aliens. A group of cannibals captured us.”

“Cannibals?” 

“Yes… As terrifying as aliens can be I’ve found humans to be much more frightening. I’m almost thankful that this place isn’t covered in plastic sheeting. Or made of concrete.”

She tilted her head. “Concrete?”

“I spent a long time in a UNIT prison. Essentially a concrete box.”

“Oh god. I’m so sorry.”

“Jack rescued me. That’s how I came to work for Torchwood.”

“How are you staying so calm after that?”

“I trust the others. I trust Jack.”

“I wish I had that right now.”

“You don’t trust us?”

“I do! Of course I do but… Jack’s human too. He can’t be a superhero and just swoop in at the last moment.”

“Don’t underestimate him. Anyway, if all else fails we can go out fighting. Why haven’t you done your… um…”

“Because if I start fighting the other telepath then he’ll tell the others and they’ll hurt you.”

“Me?”

“They’d leave me to him but they’d use you as leverage.”

“Mel…” She placed a hand on Melodys knee. “Don’t worry about me.”

“I can’t help it. You’re my friend... I’m not strong like you guys.”

“What are you talking about? You’ve held your nerve through situations even we would be terrified through. You’re a lot stronger than you think you are.”

They both looked up as they heard the lock to the door disengage. Aiden checked they weren’t near the door before walking through and closing it behind him. He placed two bottles of water in front of them. 

“Here. We’ve got no food so there’s nothing I can do about that, but you can at least have some water that doesn’t taste like old pipes.” He said calmly. For a man who was over six feet tall and well built he seemed to be trying to look smaller. Less frightening. He backed off a bit and sat down on the floor. “Look, I don’t want to hurt you. I’m just here to make sure people aren’t lying to us. It’s Vivian who has a sadistic streak. That’s the woman giving the orders. I shouldn’t be doing this but I want to give you a way out of all this. If you help us I can make sure she doesn’t lay a finger on either of you. I know you’re a tech and a damn good one. We’d be idiots not to offer you a job.”

Tosh shook her head. “I’ll have to decline.”

“Just think about it. And you. I could teach you how to use your telepathy. We could protect you from ever having anyone experimenting on you again. I’ve been where you are and trust me, you don’t owe the people who hurt you anything.”

Mel held Toshikos hand for comfort. “They didn’t experiment on me. They saved me. I just want to go home.” 

He sighed deeply and shook his head, pulling himself to his feet. “Think about it. If Vivian snaps I won’t be able to stop her. She doesn’t know the meaning of the word mercy and neither do her little team.”

“Wait,” Tosh said urgently, “you aren’t like them. Why are you helping them?”

“I owe them. They saved me from a fate worse than death. Just think about my offer.” He opened the door and took one last look at the two, a deep sadness in his eyes, before heading back downstairs, locking the door behind him. 

Vivian stood in the kitchen, arms crossed, glaring at Aiden while tapping her foot. “What are you doing?”

“What?”

“Why were you up there?”

“I took them some water.”

“They  **have** water. What do you think runs through the taps here?”

“Yea, well, it’s old and tastes like crap.”

“We’re not babysitting them!” She snapped. “They are a means to an end. That’s all. You weren’t around for the London operation. You didn’t see the shit Torchwood had hidden in that place. The monsters that were down there! We’re doing the world a favour and I don’t need you fucking it up because you feel sorry for them.” She jabbed him in the chest with her finger. “You think how we found you was bad? That was heaven compared to the conditions down in that place.” 

“Do they really look like the kind of people to do that kind of thing? We’ve been watching them for months on and off. If they were doing that kind of shit we’d know about it.”

“You don’t know what’s hidden in that base of theirs. If you go up there again you’re done here!” 

“Viv.”

“Am I making myself clear!”

He sighed, averting his eyes. “Understood.” 

“Good. Now go and sit with the others. You can punch one of them if it makes you feel better.” She waved him off as she headed outside to make sure the vans were ready for transporting their cargo. 

Gwen pulled up a map on the screen in front of her. “The message that had the address came from here. I called a couple of the local farmers and they say they’ve seen a lot of traffic coming and going from the area. If they’ve set up base here it’s the most likely place for them to be holding Tosh and Mel. Most of the land is pretty flat so they’d see us coming if we just walked up.”

“It gets dark at around five. We could use that to cover our approach.” Jack pointed to one side of the map. “They’ve probably got the main road here under surveillance, so we should take the time to move around here. Ianto, if you make your way to here you should be able to set a few distractions without being seen. We should be able to use the long grass to help us get close to the building unseen. The place has gas and water but no electricity so either they’ll be using generators which we can disable or they’ll be using battery power which wont allow for very bright lighting.” 

“We sneak in, wreck their shit, save Tosh and Mel, then blow the place to kingdom come before they know what hit them.” Owen said, standing from his chair. “Sounds like a plan to me. I’m going to get everything we need together. Prep for the worst.” 


	3. Rescue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little trigger warning for suicide. Stay safe out there.

Many vehicles could be seen parked up on the field, lines of crushed grass running to each. Ianto made his way through the grass, a scarf pulled up over his mouth and nose to stop anyone seeing his breath. One guard was posted beside the smaller van but that was it. The welshman took three silver disks from inside his coat and crept close to the first vehicle. He turned the first disk, three hooks extending from one side so he could attach it just inside the rear wheel well. He froze in place as the guard began to move, staying low and out of the mans torchlight. For a moment he thought he might have to use the taser he had hidden in his coat but the guard turned back. He swiftly planted the other two disks in the other vehicles and made his retreat. Once far enough away he tapped his earpiece. 

“The distraction’s ready to go.”

“Wait for my mark. As soon as we’re inside the building bring the SUV over. If we have to make a daring escape so be it.” Jack replied quietly. “Owen, how does it look from where you are?”

Owen viewed the small building through a set of night vision goggles. “The windows are all barred and it looks like the back door’s been blocked off. The only way in or out is the front door. It doesn’t look like there’s anyone guarding it but they’re going back and forth to the vans.”

“Any idea where the girls are being kept?”

He switched the goggles to thermal vision. “Second floor I think. No lights are on but there are two people up there.”

“They were never going to make this easy for us. How many people are we dealing with here?”

“There are six people on the ground floor, two in the larger van and one in the smaller one. There’s one over by Ianto but I don’t think he’ll be a problem.”

“Nice work. You can start heading towards the building. Take out who you can. Me and Gwen’ll approach from the other side.”

“Got it.” 

Gwen followed Jack as they slowly made their way through the long grass. Once they reached the side of the house she pulled one of the cables from the generator. The engine still running but the power no longer going anywhere. They heard one of the men hop out of the large van to investigate why they’d been plunged into darkness. As he turned the corner and bent down to pick up the cable Gwen jammed a taser into his ribs. He went down with barely a sound and Jack helped drag his body into the grass, out of sight. Around the other side Owen crept down the side of the smaller van, listening to someone moving inside. As soon as they stepped out he wrapped an arm tightly around their neck and pulled them down, choking them out and pushing their body under the van out of sight. He was about to check on the door when it was slammed shut and raised voices rose from inside. 

Aiden sat on the stairs, wanting to give the two Torchwood employees one last chance to join him. Vivian was on one of her power trips and that only meant bloodshed. He heard the others chatting and discussing the fact that there had been no movement from the meeting point. No contact had been made at all. 

Vivian rocked back on her chair. “Maybe they just need a little push.” She stood and walked over to what was once a kitchen, lighting the old gas hob. 

“What are you doing?” He asked, descending the stairs. 

She took a large knife from one of the draws and rested the blade in the flames.

“Vivian! What are you doing?”

“I’m doing exactly what I said I would.”

“They still have four hours!”

“To live, yes.”

“No! This is sick even for you.” He hissed.

She gestured for the rest of her team to join her as she took a large butchers cleaver and held it up to the dim lamplight. “Bring me the telepath. And Aiden, if you try and stop me or them I will report it back and have you sent back to the lab.”

His words caught in his throat as three guards pushed past him and ascended the stairs. 

“And if you try and pull any mind tricks I’ll have the boys kill them both early.” She walked past him and slammed the door closed.

He shook his head. “Have some mercy! She’s practically a kid.”

“Oh I see what this is. She’s not your daughter Aiden! Kendra’s gone-”

“Don’t you  **dare** talk about her!” He roared. “After this mission’s over I’m done with you.”

“And go where?”

“Oh no, not Osiris. I’m done with  **you** .”

Tosh pulled Mel close to her as she heard footsteps approaching from downstairs. The lock clicked open and the little light offered by the moon illuminated the three guards who entered. One stood by the door and the other two grabbed Melody by the arms. 

“No!” Tosh cried, grabbing onto the guards arm. “Take me instead. Please, just let her go!” She was thrown back as the man elbowed her in the side of the head, leaving her dazed as they dragged a kicking and screaming Mel beyond the door. She scrambled to get up and give chase, but the door was closed before she reached it. She crumpled against the wood as she beat her fists on its surface, her screams turning into incoherent sobs. Still dizzy she made her way over to the window and took off her boot, using its heel to break the window. It wasn’t a way out but it was a weapon and, she hoped, a distraction. She took one of the large shards of glass and wrapped it in a fabric strip torn from her skirt. As she’d hoped the door opened and she made sure she was hidden in the darkness. The guard barely had time to gasp as the glass was slashed across his throat. If Jack wasn’t going to pull a last minute rescue then she would. 

Outside, Ianto set off the heating disks he’d planted. They weren’t your run of the mill explosives. They heated up every metal component of the vehicles and after only a few moments they’d burst into flames. The first explosion sent the guard flying and in moments brought three more men to investigate. He was already far enough away to be out of sight for them with the flames rising into the evening sky. He fired three times and the men dropped into the grass. Now to bring the SUV over to the house. 

Gwen pressed her back against the wall on one side of the front door and Owen the other. Jack kicked the door with all his might before his vision went red, then black.

Two of the guards rushed out to see what was going on and pulled the door closed behind them, the lock clicking into place. Melody did her best to fight off the guards who were practically carrying her. She wasn’t strong enough to fight them off and her telepathy was still being dampened. Vivian waved them over to the worktop and pointed to a chopping board. 

“Hold her hand there.” She ordered, twirling the cleaver in her hand. 

The men did as they were told as Melody started to feel light headed from fear. It took three of them to hold her still and she saw Vivian smirk as she brought the blade down. 

Aiden felt something explode in his head, dropping him to the floor. It had been like lightning, burning through the barrier he’d created. Blood dripped down from his ears as he held his head. In his disorientated state he saw Vivian fall to the floor, the blade clattering across the floorboards, her eyes lifeless and blank. The guards that had been holding Mel were bleeding from the ears too. The front door was bashed inward and two of the guards opened fire on the figure in the doorway before they too crumpled to the floor. Melody held her hand to her chest, a slight cut running across the skin of her fingers where the blade had stopped, and staggered towards the figure that had broken down the door. She fell to her knees and let out the most hollow scream he’d ever heard. It was haunting and made the memory of the day Kendra had been taken from him flood back. She’d fought the whole time but it had been no use. Almost blinded by tears he grabbed his pistol.

“Drop it!” Owen ordered, pointing his own weapon at the mans head. 

Aiden closed his eyes. “I don’t know how she did that but… Tell her I’m sorry.” 

Before the doctor could move Aiden had placed the barrel under his chin and fired. 

Gwen wrapped her arms around Melody, shielding her eyes by pressing her face into her shoulder. 

“It’s ok sweetheart. I’ve got you.” She soothed as Mel screamed into her shoulder. Tosh descended the steps and knelt next to Jacks fallen body. He’d taken a lot of bullets so it would take him a little while to come back. 

Owen crouched next to her. “Did they hurt you?” 

“I got hit in the head and..” She looked down at the small glass cuts on the palm of her hand. “Is Melody alright?”

Gwen didn’t want to pull back to check. “Melody, darling, are you hurt? Think you can walk?” She didn’t quite understand the answer but she recognised the name Jack in the jumble of sobbed words. 

“It’s going to be alright. I promise.” She soothed, looking over to Owen who was checking Tosh for a concussion. “Owen, Mel doesn’t know about Jack.”

He turned. “What?”

“About what he can do.”

“Oh… Oh shit.”

Jack gasped back to life, looking around to try and tell if he was still in danger. Seeing Tosh and Owen by his side said it was probably ok. He sat up and smiled.

“Sorry we took so long.” He said, grazing the bruise that was developing on the side of Toshikos face with his fingertips. 

She gave a reassuring smile. “I’m ok.”

“Where’s Mel? Is she-” He surveyed the room and saw Gwen still holding the young telepath. He carefully reached out for her. “Mel?”

Melody lifted her head, blood running from her nose and tears streaming down her cheeks, her hands clasped around the pendant. She stared at him but there was no real comprehension on her face. 

“Gwen, can you help Tosh outside. Ianto should be here any second.”

Gwen did as she was asked, tentatively letting go and moving for the door. Tosh lent heavily on both Owen and Gwen as she was still a little rattled. They helped her into the back of the SUV when it arrived. Ianto moved to go into the small house but Gwen gently grabbed his arm.

“Give them a minute.” She said softly.

Jack held Melodys hands, noting the thin cut that ran across her fingers. He’d had time to see the bodies in the kitchen. Their eyes were misty and lifeless but they were still breathing.

“What happened?” He asked gently.

She stared down at the floor between them. “They were going to cut my fingers off and… I was trying to get through the other telepaths barrier… I lost control… I’m sorry.”

“You were defending yourself. Don’t ever be sorry for that.”

“Jack…”

“Hmm?”

“Are you real?”

“Yea. Yea I am.” This wasn’t a conversation he’d ever wanted to have with her, but he couldn’t talk his way around getting shot twelve times and still being alive. He expected for her to be disgusted or frightened when the reality of the situation sunk in. Instead he felt her collapse onto him, her hands gripped onto his shirt as if she thought he was going to disappear. He wrapped his arms around her comfortingly until she stopped shaking and caught her breath. After guiding her to the SUV he walked around the side of the building to grab the fuel tanks they’d been using for the generator. He took them inside and removed the lids before kicking them over. The excelerant glugged out and mixed with the blood pooling across the floor. He took the white hot knife that had been left on the gas stove and walked out, tossing it over his shoulder as he left, igniting the fuel. The flames spread quickly through the wooden building and it was nothing but a pyre in the rear view mirror as they drove away. 

  
  



End file.
